Believe or not, this is the kids' last full week of school! Hopefully everyone is enjoying the sunshine and warmer temperatures. We are busy, busy, busy this week as we try to wrap things up before the end of the school year activities begin. Here is a look at our week:
* Thank you again for such a great teacher appreciation week! What a fun way to bring the school year to a close!
* Today we taste tested some new items for our school lunch program. The kids did a fantastic job and were great food critics! Yum!
* In reading, we finished up our guided reading groups and we will begin our student selected book clubs. The kids will be in charge of leading the discussions, asking thick questions, and questioning the author (and each other) along the way! As a whole group, we will focus on determining importance. The kids will practice picking out main ideas and pieces of text that are important for understanding (not just interesting to learn about).
* We are well on our way to writing our last polished piece of the year. The kids chose the character and story line they would like to move forward with and are in the process of experimenting with dialogue and proper paragraphing to aide in the understanding of their reader. We will also continue to emphasize showing the reader what is happening through descriptive language and strong verbs.
* In social studies, the kids researched their original colony for information about the climate, geography, job opportunities, reason for being found, etc. Now they have been paired up with another classmate to create a billboard for this colony. The goal is to use catch phrases, slogans, and images that will not only teach the audience about the colony, but make the reader want to live there. These will be done on the ipads using the app "Explain Everything".
* In science we are learning about the layers of the earth. The kids have used eggs and oranges to experiment with the different layers and tectonic plates. We will also learn about the process of mountain formation and volcanoes. We will be building volcanoes in class and "erupting" them with our groups!
* We continue to work with percent, fractions, and decimals in math. We will collect data and practice finding the "percent of" larger numbers. The kids will also learn how to multiply and divide decimals. Only a few more weeks of mad minutes for facts--keep practicing at home!
* Field trip forms for our Camelot pool party went home last week--please return these as soon as possible! Additional information about what to bring and what is allowed at the park will come home as the date gets closer.
* Have a great rest of your week! ~ Mrs. Galazka
